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Earnest C. Smith

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NASA

Feb 26, 2019
Image Article
NASA portrait of Earnest C. Smith taken around 1980.
Earnest C. Smith NASA portrait taken around 1980.
NASA

Earnest C. Smith was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on May 17, 1932 and graduated from Jefferson High School in Pine Bluff in 1950. After serving in the United States Army from January 1953 to January 1955, Smith earned a Bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics from the University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff in 1956. In 1963, Smith accepted a National Science Foundation Fellowship which he used to complete a Master’s of science degree in mathematics from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1964.

Earnest C. Smith in the Astrionics Laboratory in 1964.
Earnest C. Smith started at NASA Marshall in 1964 as an aerospace engineer in the Astrionics Laboratory. He was instrumental in the development and verification of the navigation system of the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Smith later became director of the Astrionics Laboratory at Marshall.

In 1964, Charles Smoot recruited Smith to Marshall Space Flight Center where he took a position as aerospace engineer in the Astrionics Laboratory. There, he performed analyses and evaluations of the guidance, control and navigations systems for the Saturn launch vehicles. For the Skylab Program, Smith carried out studies of the control subsystem, using digital and hybrid -more system simulations. He also was instrumental in the development and verification of the navigation system of the Lunar Roving Vehicle during which he travelled to Flagstaff, Arizona for testing. Smith later became director of the Astrionics Laboratory at Marshall.

Earnest C. Smith working on Lunar Roving Vehicle testing in Flagstaff, Arizona in late 1960s.
Earnest C. Smith working on Lunar Roving Vehicle testing in Flagstaff, Arizona in late 1960s.
NASA

Over his career, Smith received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1972 for significant personal contributions to the theoretical development, practical implementation and operational support of the navigation systems for the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Apollo 16 mission, as well as several commendations and the astronauts’ Snoopy Award.